


Dark Timeline

by BlackBirdAolen



Category: Final Fantasy II
Genre: Alterantive Universe, Alternative Timeline, Conflict, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-09
Updated: 2017-07-09
Packaged: 2018-11-29 22:38:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,010
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11450505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackBirdAolen/pseuds/BlackBirdAolen
Summary: A simple thought developed into this. How would things have panned out if Emperor Mateus was the good guy in this? Though, it might be more of a case of "good guy" than actually good guy. Only time will tell.(In case you can't tell already from the frequency of his appearance: Minwu is my favorite character of the entire Final Fantasy series. Why? I can't fully explain. He just is.)Headcanons will appear frequently in this fanfic. I will indicate them in the notes.Got a fanfic idea for me?My deviantART - full of original fiction.Snippets and ramblings on my tumblr.





	1. Broken Heart and Shattered Trust

_A long and prosperous peace was tarnished by a heart wrenching event. Emperor Mateus of Palamecia, a desert realm within the world, was shunned and cast out by the royal brethren of his world. He had done nothing wrong, just been secretive as of late, and that was interpreted as a sign that he was plotting something. Despite the lack of evidence, he was ordered before the council formed by the royal families, and questioned as to his intentions._

_When Emperor Mateus didn’t want to give a straight answer, the accusations began. Even people of his own realm began telling stories about how there were ominous clouds over the keep at almost every time of the day, how there were strange sounds reverberating between the mountains. Nothing of it was quite true, but it put the council on edge._

_Under the promise that they would provide shelter to everyone from Palamecia, the council declared that Mateus was to be called a tyrant from now on, and that he was to be shunned by everyone. Mateus didn’t understand how this came to pass, but he could do nothing against it. Not wanting to give away the secret of his intense studies of magic as of recently, he accepted quietly and dignified the verdict that was handed down. He had hoped that his subjects would have defended him, but it seemed that his secrecy had alienated even the most loyal._

_With a threat on his life hanging over his head, Mateus returned to Palamecia, only to shut himself off the world even more. Palamecia was deserted by almost every other being, and it became quiet in the desert empire._

_But one new soul joined the emperor’s side. Confused by the hostility and the fact that no one could give him a proper story of what had happened, Minwu, a young apprentice mage of Mysidia, stroke out for Palamecia. He recently had finished his studies, and now was looking to become a proper mage under the guidance of an elder, or under the patronage of a royal. Hearing that Mateus had no one else on his side, he decided that he wanted to find out for himself what was true and what was fictional._

_The other mages were surprised about his decision, but they let him leave. At least, they let him be for now._

 

***

 

Minwu stared up at the castle before him, not believing what he saw. There indeed were some clouds permanently hanging over it, but he wouldn’t exactly have described them as ominous. They looked normal enough to him, aside from their static position above the highest pinnacles of the Palamecian castle.

Shortly before he had left, a letter had reached him. In it, Mateus had personally asked him to come to his aid. Well, it had rather been phrased as an offer as a position of high court mage. Seeing that Mateus had barely anyone left around him, this seemed like a rather desperate measure, but Minwu didn’t care about that either way. He simply wanted to come to the aid of a man, whose name had been connected to so much spite that it was frightening to behold.

The other mages had given him weird looks when he had left, but no one had attempted to stop him. Minwu had taken it as a sign that it was alright, and now, standing in front of the castle, he wondered why the mages hadn’t said anything at all. They could just as well have come here and convinced themselves that there was nothing to be feared. Nothing of harm was radiating from the old, weathered stone. Whatever had happened to make Mateus one of the most hated men of the world was still a mystery to him. But it was a mystery he was intent on solving.

He pushed open the door easily, and stepped into the cool hallway. It was a relief after having travelled for such a long time, and next to a desert no less. He had kept close to the mountains while he had travelled, to avoid getting whipped by the sandstorms that were rising at this time of the year. His steps echoed through the hallways, and he was looking around for a sign of anyone coming to greet him. But he remained alone, until he reached a great staircase. There, just emerging from another corridor, stood Emperor Mateus.

He was an elegant man, of tall build, with a purple and white outfit. The long cloak hanging from his shoulders seemed to move a little on its own, but that could just have been a breeze coming from somewhere. Mateus nodded with a pleased smile, then came down the stairs to meet Minwu. His pale blond hair almost melted into the white part of his outfit, and Minwu had a hard time not to stare. This was far removed from a tyrannical leader, at least in his opinion.

“I have waited for you, Minwu of Mysidia. Welcome to my castle. I’m the emperor of Palamecia, Mateus.”

Minwu hastily bowed, and managed a smile. He had pulled down the cloth usually covering the lower half of his face, to not appear to be too shy to show his face. His own clothes, simple white robes, were still dirtied from his travels, but he supposed that Mateus wouldn’t mind that as much as lacking politeness in the face of such a warm welcome.

“I’m honored to be here. Please, just call me Minwu. I don’t really feel as if I’m from Mysidia.”

Mateus nodded slowly, then signed Minwu to follow him. Minwu gathered up his belongings again, and curiously stepped into the corridor Mateus had just previously emerged from. He also encountered some personnel of the emperor. Mostly servants to tend to him, who all greeted him warmly. He was shown a room and given time to refresh, which he used for a much-needed bath and to make sure that he was much more presentable than before.

The maid coming in left him a fresh set of mage robes, though they were the blue ones of a black mage. Minwu didn’t quite know what to think of that, but he wouldn’t be complaining. Maybe, Mateus had assumed he would be more interested in the black school, but Minwu had found himself more apt with the white teachings. Amidst the confusing varieties between the schools, he had found the two with the longest tradition to be the most to his liking. But maybe, he would find out how to wield a wider variety of magic – if he just went through enough training.

 

***

 “I would like to hear from you what you know about me.” Mateus had leaned back into a comfortable chair, while Minwu had been given a slightly smaller wooden chair. “After all, I didn’t expect you to follow my invitation. Much less after what has been heard about me all around the world.”

Minwu hesitated for a moment. He had heard plenty of things about Mateus, but that didn’t mean he necessarily believed all of them. “Well… I heard that you were declared a tyrant, three years prior to this day, and accused of meeting preparations for a ritual of some kind. There are countless speculations about what this ritual could have been. Most are in agreement that it could only have meant that you would try to unleash some kind of evil upon this world, but that seems just too far-fetched for me. With the long history of Palamecia as a quiet and dignified country, and the unfounded rumors multiplying, I found it hard to believe anything of that.”

This statement caused surprise to show on Mateus’s face. “You do not believe that I’m a tyrannical sorcerer in cohorts with demonic spawn? What do you believe then?”

Minwu thought about it for a good while. He had gone by his feeling mostly, and it told him that something was not right about this whole story of tyranny and oppression. “I thought it all a bit too rushed. I heard about the council’s meeting, about the trial, and how fast it all happened. This smells a lot like a try to alienate you from everyone around you. It didn’t succeed, but nonetheless, it caused a lot of damage.”

Mateus smiled warmly, but didn’t reply right away. He seemed deeply satisfied, to a degree that Minwu hadn’t seen before. He could imagine that it was pure relief that someone was finally willing to talk to Mateus, and at the same time listen to him. The many hardships the emperor already endured had quiet likely caused quite the damage to his confidence in people around him, and his trust towards anyone not already connected to him.

“I thank you, Minwu.” Mateus took a deep breath. “We shall talk more about your future position here tomorrow. But know this: it is a great relief and a joy to have you by my side. It gives me confidence that there is indeed a future for Palamecia. And maybe, just maybe, we can find a way how to redeem myself and give the entire land a better reputation. It still frightens me how easily it was destroyed, and how impossible it is to better it in the eyes of others.”

Minwu nodded thoughtfully. He had experienced how fast it could happen that the powerful turned on each other. Mysidia had been the scene of quite a lot of conflicts between powerful mages. These conflicts hadn’t always been resolved peacefully. And in the interest of all, there already had been times when a mage had been forced to go away, for it was just too much of a liability to have warring mages throw words and spells around likewise.

“I will do my best, I promise. But I’m also aware that an arduous task lies before us. I hope that we can resolve it, though. And I will give it my all.”


	2. New Strengths

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minwu is discovering new talents on himself.
> 
> Headcanons in this chapter:  
> \- Bottomless cauldrons provide the potion supplies of the towns. How else would you explain that you can buy a limitless supply from pretty much every shop?  
> \- There are already jobs, though they didn't exist as such in the second installment of the game.  
> \- The bottomless cauldrons are also kind of an explanation for the healing pots that are standing around in some games. Their elixir-like effect has to come from somewhere, right?

The next days and weeks were spent with finding out more about the castle, and with a lot of questions from Mateus. He was very interested to find out how much Minwu knew, and what his knowledge would amount to in just about any situation. Mateus praised the powerful white magic Minwu had already memorized (his Cure and Esuna spells were both at their highest potency, as was Shell), but he found the three basic black magic spells severely lacking in strength. Then, Minwu had also picked up Teleport as a spell, but it had only happened very recently.

“Seven spells are a good range already for an apprentice, but I think you can benefit immensely from gathering more experience once we have the time to actually conduct some proper training. But I would like to see something else. Outside of magic, Mysidia should also offer teachings about the profession of the Chemist and the Alchemist, correct? It would be very beneficial if you could create potions for us, since we are effectively cut from anyone who would provide us with such.”

 

Minwu hesitated and then sighed quietly. “I have picked up quite something, but I don’t know if it will be enough to satisfy the needs of you and your servants. I mean, I can probably create passably potent tinctures, but I don’t want to promise too much.”

The art of brewing potions and elixirs for wary travelers was one of balance and a precise list of what had already been added, and at what point. Minwu rather liked it, but it still was a hassle to keep track of all those ingredients. He found that he had a good memory for this kind of thing, but that didn’t change the fact that it still was a highly stressful procedure if one was unsure of just one detail. It was an exact science only to a degree, however. Many interactions still hadn’t been observed, which made for a big unknown in the field.

The previous Alchemist of Palamecia had left behind a laboratory filled with a cauldron and a wide range of ingredients. Minwu took three days just to take stock of every ingredient, and the available quantities. Then, he looked through the notes, but only found a recipe for a base potion. That was a disappointment, since it meant that the Alchemist had mistrusted Mateus, too, and had rather taken all his knowledge with him, instead of leaving some of it behind.

“This is a well-stocked laboratory, but it will still be difficult. I remember my classes rather well, but I’m not sure of everything. I have my doubts that I will be able to create a more potent potion too soon.” Minwu sighed quietly, then furrowed his eyebrows and took a closer look at the cauldron. “But we have one advantage over the others. This cauldron has been here long enough to become a bottomless well, in a way. I won’t have to mix a new potion every time we want one, so I will be able to improve on the potency. But it will be a long process, there is no doubt about it.”

Mateus gently shook his head. “I don’t mind if it takes a long time. As long as there is reassurance that we don’t have to fear having a wounded one in our midst, and not being able to do anything other than using up our magic, then it’s alright.”

Minwu chuckled lightly. “Of course, I could always just practice my white magic and heal them, but I suppose that it would be a wise choice to also mix a good brew. I will start with the basic recipe, and see where this goes from here. I should still have the effects of most ingredients here memorized, or at least have a good idea what they will do once added to the brew.”

He spoke full of confidence, but in reality, Minwu was worried about the possible outcomes of such dangerous dealings with the alchemical knowledge before him. The classes always had cautioned to not experiment too much with a cauldron, especially with one that had gained the properties of a bottomless well. There was only one of its kind in every kingdom, but looking at how it was at the moment, it was their only choice. There was no blacksmith readily available, or a way to easily obtain another cauldron. As it stood, his only hope of getting on top of things was using small quantities of the potion to test new mixtures, before he added a greater quantity to the potion already bubbling.

 

***

  
  
In between studying the books and tomes of Mateus’s library, Minwu would tend to the cauldron regularly, checking on how their progress was, and thinking about how he could improve on the already created mixture. He kept a tidy list of everything that had been added, and rather checked once too often than not being sure if it was a good idea to add a pulverized herb or not. There was a possibility that the potion could turn into poison, or become unstable in some way.

The longer he experimented, however, the better he understood that it was more difficult to completely taint a potion than he would have thought. They had only worked with very small volumes in Mysidia, for the sole reason that there were dozens of students at any time. Besides, Mysidia had its own renowned Alchemist branch, which rendered the classes far less extensive than they could have been. Minwu learned as he went along, and he noticed that he learned much faster and more thoroughly than he would have expected.

“I think I have been quite successful up to now.” Emperor Mateus, today without his long cloak, had come by to check on his progress. Minwu demonstrated the effect of his potion after expending some magic. “I have been successful in adding other, refreshing effects. They are minor compared to the healing properties, but they should become useful in the foreseeable future. I have run into another problem, however. After a full month of adding more and more ingredients, I have noticed that I’m running short on supplies already. I had thought that I had a lot to go through, but it was far less than I would have hoped.”

“I feared that already, but I think that this can be remedied with a trip to the desert and its many little oases. Nearly everything that has come to this castle was gathered from those small refuges in the desert. There are caves around that should contain several more ingredients, but my previous Alchemist sadly refused to go there, and I couldn’t just send anyone there.”

Minwu nodded faintly, and returned his attention to the cauldron. They used as little heat as they could get away with, and the results were rather marvelous. In cases when he needed more for a short period of time, a fire spell showed just the right amount of energy to fuel the short increase.

“I’m surprised I’m doing so well, to be honest. But I’m also glad that I can be of help. It would have been devastating to find out that I couldn’t do much.”

Mateus lifted his hand. “Don’t speak like that. You’re a valued member of this court already, and my other servants would agree that your arrival here has alleviated quite some sorrows. If you wish to, I will send some of them with you to aid you in gathering more ingredients.”

Minwu smiled. “That would be very kind, but as of the moment, it is not urgent. I’m pleased with the results so far, and I don’t think we need to worry about higher potency any time in the near future. I will, of course, still work on improvements.”

Mateus was satisfied with that answer, and then retreated to his rooms. Minwu, in the meantime, returned to his training. If he already was being housed by a kind man, he could show some courtesy and provide the strength that Mateus lacked.


End file.
